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Hope #25: World-class education and universities

Putrajaya’s tendency to draw only on “flattering” rankings like QS Quacquarelli Symonds as proof that Malaysian universities are of world-class status is giving the country an “overoptimistic, distorted” idea of how local varsities actually fare, Times Higher Education (THE) said.

THE editor Phil Baty told The Malaysian Insider that Malaysian universities were “some way off” from being world class….

Despite this, Second Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh has often cited QS’s rankings as proof that Malaysian universities were doing well, and even said local varsities were on a par with those of developed nations such as Britain, Germany and Australia.

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He said Malaysia should not “pick out data that puts it in a good light”, and shun rankings that depicted less-flattering results, such as THE.

“It could lead to complacency that could lead to thinking that you don’t really need to invest in universities, you don’t need to work harder. You don’t need to develop faculty or academic community more.

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“It is a concern that Malaysian universities and the Malaysian sector appears to be hiding from us, hiding from the truth to a certain extent.”